Understanding the nature of art requires different philosophical approaches. This book explores changes in the concept of art, including imitation theory, expression theory, formalism, and institutionalism, and highlights the importance of defining art.
Aesthetics is a branch of philosophy that discusses concepts and theories related to art and aesthetic experience, and the question of defining art is important. A look at the history of aesthetics reveals different approaches to understanding the nature and value of art. In the early days, Aristotle’s theory of imitation, which saw art as an imitation of nature, was dominant. In his Poetics, Aristotle saw art as one of the ways humans understand and experience the world, and argued that imitation could purify the emotions. This theory of imitation is based on the theory of the transparency of reproduction, which states that the object and its reproduction must be similar.
However, Romanticism, which emerged at the end of the eighteenth century, led to the decline of the imitation theory by allowing for the artist’s original expression of emotion and distorted expression. Romanticism emphasized the subjective experience and inner emotions of the artist, since art is a creative act that goes beyond mere reproduction. Art was no longer perceived as a mere imitation of nature, but as a unique work that revealed the individuality and creativity of the artist. Accordingly, a new theory was needed to recognize Romantic art, which did not require imitation as a prerequisite, as art.
In the early 20th century, Collingwood presented an expressionist theory that defined the artist’s serious ideas or emotions as the conditions of art. He argued that a true work of art is a spiritual object that does not need to be constructed with physical materials. Collingwood saw art as a process of expressing emotions that come from within the artist and through which the audience gains empathy and understanding, rather than simply imitating the outside world. Around the same time, formalism developed, which emphasized the unique form of the work itself. Bell’s formalism saw works that evoked aesthetic emotions through “meaningful form” that could not be intuitively identified and defined as art by only critics with artistic sensibilities.
In the mid-20th century, when Duchamp’s Fountain, which depicted a toilet, was recognized as a work of art, two theories emerged to explain why ordinary toilets, which are formally indistinguishable from it, were not recognized as art. The first is Weitz’s theory of the impossibility of defining art. He argued that art, theater, literature, and music are all heterogeneous and have no common elements that encompass them, so art cannot be defined. Witt argues that the existing theories of defining art are superficially in the form of propositions, but are in fact pseudo-propositions that cannot be judged true or false, and therefore the discussion of defining art is unnecessary.
The second is Dikey’s institutional theory. It defines a work of art as an artifact that has been qualified as a candidate for appreciation by people in the social institution of the art world. Dikey’s view is a categorical theory that all things can be considered works of art if they go through certain procedures and conventions. According to institutional theory, works of art are defined within the institutional framework formed by the interaction of various social actors such as artists, critics, and viewers. This presents the view that art is essentially a social construct, and its definition is not fixed, but can vary according to changing social and cultural contexts.
These discussions attempt to find the common essence of works of art and the necessary and sufficient conditions of art. These philosophical discussions about the definition of art do not remain merely as academic interests, but also have a profound impact on the actual practice and appreciation of art. Attempts to identify the nature of art play an important role in understanding what artists should pursue in their creative activities, what criteria critics should use in evaluating works, and what attitudes visitors should adopt in appreciating works of art. Therefore, philosophical exploration of the definition of art is essential for a deep understanding of various aspects of art and for exploring the essence of human experience through art.
